On November 3, 1988, Junko Furuta, a Japanese high school student, was kidnapped, raped, and tortured for 44 days at the home of her classmate. The details of the abuse she suffered during that time are shocking and unspeakable. Her body was eventually discovered in a concrete drum, earning her the moniker “Concrete-Encased High School Girl Murder Case.”
17-year-old Junko had been subjected to such severe torture that she was unable to stand or speak by the time of her death. The main perpetrators of the abuse were Hiroshi Miyano, Jō Ogura, Shinji Minato, and Yasushi Watanabe. Tragically, all of these individuals have since been released from prison.
Junko Furuta’s death cannot be attributed solely to the actions of these four teenage boys. Many others failed to notice or intervene in the attack on the girl, leading to her untimely death, to the point where she begged for them to kill her. This case continues to be a tragic reminder of the failure of society to protect its most vulnerable members.
Warning: This article contains graphic details about Junko Furuta’s death, which may be upsetting to some readers.
Who Was Junko Furuta?
Junko Furuta, born in Misato, Saitama Prefecture, was a model student with a strong academic record and few absences. She worked part-time during her school years to help support her family and had taken a job at an electronics store, where she planned to continue working after graduation.
In addition to her academic achievements, Furuta was an attractive teenager who drew a lot of attention, which made some of her peers envious. She was a model student who didn’t smoke, didn’t do drugs, and excelled in school.
However, one of the school bullies, Hiroshi Miyano, didn’t appreciate her. Miyano had a crush on Furuta but she wasn’t interested in him, and she turned him down. Miyano was associated with thugs outside of school, and no one in the school had the courage to stand up to him.
Abduction of Junko Furuta
On November 25, 1988, Miyano and his friend Misato went out with the intention of robbing and raping local women. At 8:30 pm, they saw Furuta cycling home after finishing her part-time job. Miyano told his friend Misato to kick her bicycle and run away.
Misato did as he was told, and Miyano, who was standing nearby, pretended to witness the attack by approaching her and offering to drive her home. But, Furuta had no idea that everything had been planned and that she had been drawn into it. Miyano took her to a nearby camp and raped her, as well as told her about his ties to a local gang, the Yakuza, and threatened to kill her. Miyano kidnapped her and took her to a hotel, where he raped her once more.
He called his friends Ogura and Watanabe Yasushi from the hotel and boasted about how he had raped her. Ogura told him to imprison Furuta so they could sexually molest her. Yazuka, a local gang, had a history of gang rape and had recently abducted and raped another girl before releasing her.
Miyano took Furuta to a park where his friends were waiting around 3 a.m. They discovered her address and threatened to murder her family if she attempted to flee. They took her to one of the boys’ houses and held her there until her death.
They had discovered her home address in a notebook in her backpack and informed her that they knew where she lived and that Yakuza members would kill her family if she attempted to flee.
Furuta’s parents reported her missing to the police two days after her disappearance. In order to stop the police investigation, Furuta’s kidnappers forced her to call her mother and tell her that she had run away and was now living with a friend and that she was safe.
Furuta was forced to pose as the girlfriend of one of the kidnappers when Minato’s parents came to visit him. However, it became clear after several visits to the house that Furuta was not someone’s girlfriend but a hostage. Minato’s parents did nothing out of fear of retaliation from Hiroshi Miyano, a Yakuza operative. Minato’s brother was aware of the situation, as were his parents, but they chose not to intervene.
44 days of hell
Junko Furuta was held captive in the Minato Residence for the next 40 days, and during that time, she was subjected to unspeakable suffering, of which even the details are shocking.
For Junko Furuta, each day inside the Mintao’s residence was nothing short of hell:
She was humiliated by being kept naked for the majority of the time, raped by over 100 men, and the kidnappers invited their friends to assault the 17-year-old. Furuta was raped an estimated 500 times, including 12 times in one day by 12 different men.
According to their testimony in court, “They raped her over 400 times, beat her, starved her, hung her from the ceiling and used her as a ‘punching bag,’ dropped barbells on her stomach, forced her to eat live cockroaches and drink her own urine, forced her to masturbate in front of them, and forced her to sing and dance while being beaten. They used cigarettes and lighters to burn her, as well as hot wax to burn her eyelids.”
Junko Furuta’s condition continued to deteriorate as a result of the sustained assaults. She reportedly lost consciousness and had to be revived by being dipped in a bucket of water. Despite her uterus being severely damaged, she was discovered to be pregnant.
Furuta attempted to call the police for help once but was apprehended before she could say anything. When the police returned the call, Miyano explained that the emergency call had been a mistake. As punishment for trying to call for help, her captors tied her legs and set her feet on fire with burning lighter fluid. After 20 days of this ordeal, she was unable to walk due to severe burns on her legs and badly bruised muscles.
Furuta’s hands were also severely damaged; her bones were smashed with weights and her fingernails were torn. Even after this, they forced her to sleep on the balcony, exposing her to cold temperatures. Her internal organs were also damaged and she was unable to urinate properly after 30 days of the continuous assault. She begged her captors to kill her as she was exhausted and tortured, but they refused and continued to attack and torture her.
According to one of the kidnappers, “Furuta’s legs were so badly damaged that it took her over an hour to drag herself down the stairs to the toilet.” Her body was also severely crippled and she began to emit a foul odor, driving the boys away from her.
If the police had followed through with their investigation, the ordeal of Junko Furuta could have been brought to an end much sooner. One of the kidnappers’ friends, Ihara, was allegedly coerced into participating in the abuse. After leaving the Minato residence, Ihara confided in his brother, who then informed their parents and they contacted the police.
When police officers were dispatched to the Minato residence, they were told that there was no girl inside. The officers declined an invitation to search the house and the community expressed disappointment in their actions. If they had thoroughly searched the house, it’s possible that Junko Furuta could still be alive today.
The Death of Junko Furuta
On January 4, 1989, Furuta’s kidnappers challenged her to a game of Mahjong Solitaire, which she won. This enraged the boys, who began to subject her to further abuse. They beat her with an iron barbell, kicked and punched her, and placed two short candles on her eyelids, burning them with hot wax.
They made her stand and beat her with a stick, causing her to bleed profusely and pus to appear on her infected burns. This did not deter the kidnappers, who continued to beat her with plastic bags in their hands. They repeatedly slammed an iron exercise ball into her stomach. They also lit her on fire by pouring lighter fluid on her thighs, arms, face, and stomach. Furuta attempted to put out the fire but quickly became unresponsive. The attack lasted for two hours, during which time she succumbed to her injuries and died.
Her abductors wrapped her body in blankets and stuffed it into a suitcase. They later stuffed her body into a 55-gallon drum, filled it with wet concrete, and dumped it in a cement truck in Tokyo’s Koto neighborhood.
An autopsy revealed that Furuta’s brain had shrunk, and her eardrums had been severely damaged among other injuries. The news of the atrocities committed against her daughter had a severe impact on Furuta’s mother, requiring intensive psychiatric treatment.
Junko Furuta’s Captors
On January 23, 1989, Hiroshi Miyano and Jō Ogura were arrested for the gang rape of a 19-year-old woman they had kidnapped in December.
On March 29, two police officers arrived at Miyano’s residence to question him after discovering a women’s underwear. During the questioning, Miyano and Ogura confessed to the crimes against Furuta, and Miyano led the police to where her body was located. However, when the police questioned them about the disappearance of another woman and her 7-year-old son, their confession was met with confusion.
The drum containing Furuta’s body was discovered the following day by the police. Fingerprints were used to identify her body, and Jō Ogura was arrested for a separate sexual assault on April 1, 1989, before being arrested again for Furuta’s murder. Nobuharu Minato, Yasushi Watanabe, and Minato’s brother were also detained.
Trial of Junko Furuta’s captors
Despite their heinous crimes, the court kept their identities hidden, but a Japanese magazine was able to uncover and publish their identities. The magazine stated that “give the severity of the crime, the accused did not deserve to have their right to anonymity upheld.”
Rather than pleading guilty to murder, all of the kidnappers pleaded guilty to “causing bodily injury that resulted in death.” The four criminals were tried as juveniles but had to be convicted as adults; unfortunately, each of them has already been released from prison.
Hiroshi Miyano, the criminal mastermind, was sentenced to 17 years in prison; he later appealed, but Tokyo High Court judge Ryji Yanase increased his sentence by three years. The sentence for two more boys who appealed was also increased by the same judge. After selling their family home, Hiroshi’s mother allegedly sent Furuta’s parents 50 million yen (US $425,000).
Yasushi Watanabe, now Jo Kamisaku, was released in August 1999, and five years later, in July 2004, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for assaulting a man he believed was luring his girlfriend away from him.
All of the sentences were deemed far too lenient for the crimes committed, and all of them were protected by special laws that apply to people over the age of 18.
Junko Furuta’s funeral was held on April 2, 1989. The following is a quote from a memorial address written by one of her friends:
Jun-chan, welcome back. I have never dreamed that we would see you again in this way. You must have been in so much pain… so much suffering. The happiness we all made from the school festival looked really good on you. We will never forget you. I have heard that the headmaster has presented you with a graduation certificate. So, we graduated together – all of us Jun-chan, there is no more pain, no more suffering. Please rest in peace.
Junko Furuta Movie
Concrete movie is backed on the case of the murder of Junko Furuta, the film deals with as many social factors that produced Furuta’s four assailants as it does with her suffering at their hands.
Many people believe that this story is a hoax; we wish it had been a hoax so that Junko Furuta would not have suffered, but the terrible crime did happen. Junko Futura’s death was terrifying, and the case, trial, and verdicts all served as a reminder that something like this should never happen again. If you notice something unusual or suspect someone is in danger, contact someone, inform your elders, or report it to the authorities; you may be able to save a life.
It is important to note that this case is a real event, and the details of the crime are horrific and disturbing. The perpetrators were convicted and served time in prison for their crimes. However, it is also important to recognize the failures of the justice system in providing adequate punishment and protection for the victim and her family. It is crucial to raise awareness about the dangers of domestic violence, sexual assault, and abuse, and to advocate for changes in the legal system to ensure that justice is served for victims and their families. It is also important to remember that if someone is in danger, it is important to take action and contact the authorities immediately.
This case is a tragic reminder of the consequences of staying silent and failing to intervene in situations where someone is in danger. It highlights the need for individuals to speak out against abuse and violence and for society to hold perpetrators accountable for their actions.
